Tyson Fury v Anthony Joshua has to happen this year, promoter Frank Warren has said.

Warren, who co-promotes Fury with Bob Arum, isn’t interested in the fight happening in a year or two and told BT Sport that Fury is this generation’s number one heavyweight.

“It’s gotta happen and it’s gotta happen this year, not a year or two away. We’ve always been upfront with everything. To get that fight on, everybody involved in that fight has got to sit round a table and get it hammered out. It’s not my decision, it’s not Bob Arum’s decision, it’s Tyson Fury’s decision.

“Tyson is the number one heavyweight. Everyone else is in their slipstream. [He is] the best heavyweight of his generation. He’s the number one."

Fury and Joshua have some business to take care of this summer with the WBC champion set to face Deontay Wilder for a third time after the American activated his rematch clause following his loss in their second contest. While Anthony Joshua will defend his WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF titles against the latter’s mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London.

“I’m optimistic so long as everyone keeps winning and getting through their obligations,” said Warren. “I want to sit down to make it happen. [I want to] sit down with Freddie Cunningham who represents AJ, AJ, his promoters, whatever it takes, we’ll sit down and work a deal out.”

An undisputed heavyweight title fight between Fury and Joshua has the potential to bring Britain to a standstill should it happen. Undoubtedly it has the potential to fill out the likes of Wembley Stadium and the Principality Stadium, two venues that Joshua has fought at four times before.

Warren, who has promoted some of Britain’s biggest boxing events himself, says a Fury-Joshua fight would be the biggest sporting event in over 50 years.

“I genuinely think those two getting it on together is the biggest sporting event this country has ever seen since England winning the World Cup [in 1966] because when did you ever have two British guys holding [all of the] belts? The four never belts have never been on the line before. And it’s two Brits. It’s a huge fight, it’s a mega sporting event.”

And while the public would love to see the fight in the U.K, Warren says that money will talk the loudest and reminded everyone that this wouldn’t be the first time that a heavyweight super fight has gone into unchartered territory just as Anthony Joshua’s recent rematch with Andy Ruiz did.

“I’d like to see it held in the UK but it’s going to go on wherever the money is,” said Warren.

“The same as when Muhammad Ali fought George Foreman. They went where the money was. That’s what sportsmen do. They’ve got very short careers but of course I’d like it in the UK.”